Maui 2012

12/31

Dad dropped me off at the airport, and was slightly nervous with an internet snafu about checking in for my flight.  I didn’t have an assigned seat, so I selected one in 1st class.  They tried charging me $399 for the upgrade, so I cancelled out of it.  When I got to the check-in counter, they informed me that there were no more available seats on the plane, and they upgraded me to 1st class free of charge!  It was a nice flight with plenty of legroom and great food.  Delicious tuna.  I landed, and quickly picked up my rental car which turned out to be a Ford Escape.  I made it to the hotel and after meeting up with Mihaela, we took the car for a spin up to the Iao spire, and hiked around the little trails.  Then we watched the sunset out south of Maalaea.  It was there where we started seeing signs of whale activity.  The lookout pullouts were all packed with cars extending out into the highway, we had to illegally park along the shoulder at a more remote location (with no people) and watch a few humpbacks breach nearly their entire bodies out of the water.  I simply didn't have room in my bags to fit everything including my binoculars... and am kicking myself now for it.  Should have brought a few less camera lenses, and crammed the binoculars in.  Oh well.  By the time you see the breach in the distance, chances are that you're not going to have much time to pull the binoculars up to see the display anyhow.  That evening we got ready for a party we had reservations to out near Makawao.  It was a simple NYE party.  No real big firework displays out in Maui. (perhaps some at fancy resorts... but parking and having to deal with crowds didn't seem appealing)

1/1

The next morning we went out snorkeling near Ukumehame Beach.  Spent some time out there chasing fish around.  Mihaela isn't as comfortable in the water as I am, so we stayed in mostly the shallow regions which extended a ways.  After drying off, we started a trip around the western half of Maui.  Our next stop was Lahaina where we had to get some things at a local ABC store, including the sunglasses I forgot to bring.  Things were pretty dead in the whole city, being Sunday, but we explored around a bit casually looking for a bite to eat, but nothing appeared to be open.  We continued onward to Makuleia Bay and scrambled around on some of the rocks.  The water was too rough to attempt any snorkeling, so we just bummed around the beach until the sun made us retreat back to an air conditioned vehicle. We continued around stopping at whatever cool little spots we came across to grab some photos.  One spot there was a rain squall rolling through, and we were treated to an amazing 200+ degree rainbow spanned across the horizon.  By the time I got my camera out, the sun hid behind some clouds, but the rainbow still showed up a bit.  Then when it couldn't get any better, we saw another pod of humpbacks in the water below.  Just one of those "Pause, and record" moments in the brain.  The road got really curvy and tight from then on out, but I didn't mind having to use pullouts, and let others squeeze past.  Stomachs began to rumble, and there was a modified school bus made into a restaurant where we got some shaved ice smoothies to hold us over until we got some real food.  I think it was just west of the Nakalele blowhole.  Eventually made it back to Kahului, and got some food.  This induced a massive food coma, and am not trying to get things organized for tomorrow's trip up to Haleakala to watch the sunrise.

1/2/11

Woke up at 3am, got ready for the Haleakala sunrise.  After grabbing some things, extra clothes, and even "borrowing" one of the bed's comforters, we were on our way around 3:30.  I made good time going up the switchbacks, and blew away the time estimate to get to the top... and we were there about an hour and a half early before the sunrise.  Mihaela stayed in the warm car and dozed off while I went around taking some star-streak photos overlooking Maui.  I haven't had a chance to even begin processing yet.  Later I moved the tripod over where I could start some timelapse of the sunrise.  Mihaela joined for the sunrise, and we both discovered how hungry we were.  Going back took significantly longer than it did coming up since we were following slow people creeping down switchbacks like they were transporting glass bottles of nitroglycerin.

We had our last breakfast at the Maui Beach Hotel, and checked out.  From there we made our way over to Spreckelsville Beach, which is by the airport.  The entry was incredibly crowded and unorganized, but a little walk away we were treated with our own little section of beach.  Blue turquoise water, reefs, driftwood getting pounded by waves, etc.  It was a good find.  The beach went on for maybe a half-mile or so.  We got back and had to rehydrate at a Jamba Juice before hitting up some other shopping needs.  Thereafter checked in to the whale watching outfit at the Pacific Whale Foundation and boarded a catamaran that took us near a few pods of humpbacks.  I was only able to see 3 breaching episodes, and they were all about a mile away.  They were rather shy today, because the closest we got to them was about 200 yards.  Oh well, it was a good outing for not a huge amount of money.  It was worth it for the boat ride, info on humpbacks and other wildlife, and also the whale sightings.

Eventually made it down to the Grand Wailea.  This place is just...... ridiculous.  I'm too tired to think of a word to describe how exotic/expensive/luxurious this place is.  Sculptures, coy ponds, fountains, manicured lawns down to individual blades of grass, tiki torches, palm trees, numerous swimming pools and activities, great beach, and the room is pretty spiffy too.  I noticed that it had been 8 hours since we had any sort of food, so we went to a thai place since 3 other restaurants were packed with an hour wait or more out in Kihea.  We were both falling asleep on the way back, but made it safely.  Time for sleep.

1/3/11

The other day I had planned on taking some kite boarding lessons, but due to low wind speeds, lessons were cancelled.  We were informed of the cancellation while we were enroute, so as a backup plan, we decided to head around the big half of the island.  Even though it was a late start, we went anyway.  Traffic was hellish at the start, such that I totally forgot to pick up some gas, and I had to take a little detour to some little town where an old man had an old fashioned pump, and insisted upon operating it for me.  It was overpriced, perhaps close to $5.10/gallon, so I just put enough to get myself to Hana.  (It wasn't much better there either)  After driving for a bit, we had to stop at a few waterfalls.  I felt compelled to go swimming in one that looked attractive.  The water was brisk, but it felt good on the hot day.  Most of the trip was spent pulling over at places that looked interesting, and exploring various little spots next to the road.  Before Hana, there was a lava tube we wanted to check out, but it had closed just a few minutes prior to our arrival.  Instead we passed through Hanna after picking up some gas and seeing the not-so-scenic Hana Beach Park.  With daylight beginning to fade, I thought it would be worth trying to get a hike in while there was time.  Passing over the lower 7 pools, we could see the multicolored mob of people scattered below.  My Haleakala NP pass was still good, so I thought it would be nice to hike up to some more waterfalls for photos while there was daylight left.  As it turned out, there was nobody at the gate to accept the pass, so anyone was free to park after a certain time of day.  I snagged my flashlight just in case, and we both went running up the trail in flip-flops.  Parts were slippery, so care was needed in sections.  Passing by some lower falls, the trail got slightly narrower, and passed a massive Banyan tree.  I think the most interesting part of the hike was going through the intimidatingly dense bamboo forest.  With fading daylight, this area got REALLY dark, and I used the flashlight in a few spots.  Segments of the trail in here were elevated on boards, so we could run easier without fear of losing step.  We eventually got to the last waterfall about 2 some miles from the parkinglot.  I can't remember the name of it if it was Makahiku, or the one after it.  I tried my best to take some photos w/o a tripod, and we hurried to get back to the car.  When we arrived back to the rental, viability was poor, and one almost needed a flashlight just to walk out in the open.  I was glad I brought the flashlight.  The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful.  Slightly upsetting that there wasn't enough daylight to see other interesting parts of the island.  The positive side was that it being so late, there was hardly anyone on the road.  There were some sketchy sections of the road and some had oncoming traffic and blind hair pin turns.  Since any oncoming vehicle stuck out like a sore thumb with headlights, I could tell if someone was coming from a long ways away.  This allowed me to make excellent time on the way back.  The Ford Escape has a similar handling profile to that of the Equinox, and I exercised its designed limitations in power transfer and suspension. Every now and then someone would be in front of me, but they were able to pull off on a wide section and let me pass.  I didn't feel like I was speeding, but everyone else on the island felt that 10mph was too fast on that road.  Eventually we made it back to civilization, grabbed some much needed food, and some breakfast items to avoid the outrageous resort food costs.  By the time I pulled into the hotel, I was done.  Tired and fatigued.

1/4/11

The next morning was spent near the resort checking out some of their local entertainment.  I wanted to rent a standup paddle board, but they wanted $40/hour.  I know that local shops will rent you one for the entire day for $30.  I called the kite boarding outfit, and they informed us that there was enough wind for the lessons.  We made a stop at the post office, and then grabbed brunch at a café that served some yummy pancakes with coconut syrup.  They were excellent.  With that load of nutrients we arrived at the surf shop to sign releases and get fit with gear.  Soon we were at the beach and started right on in.  My instructor was relieved that I had preexisting experience with flying parasail/kites as well as snowboarding experience.  This made the first few "lessons" breeze past.  Soon I was getting into the water doing exercises getting the sail up when it was down in the water, and getting it to pull me along w/o a board.  Self rescue stuff too, where you detach the harness entirely, and grab the sail a certain way allowing it to pull you to shore.  By then, the wind was dying down, and I figured I had better go with the next lesson package.  It’s busy though, and tricky to get spots reserved.  The day that was cancelled has things messed up too.  We'll see how tomorrow turns out.  Got back, cleaned up, had sushi at a nifty sushi bar.  Expensive, but fresh, and very tasty.

1/5/11

After eating some raisin bran with chocolate milk for breakfast, we departed the resort and went out to Big Beach.  Luckily it was somewhat early, and we were able to get an alright parking spot.  The waves were not as large as I remember them being, and it was pretty calm.  We spent some time out there, and hiked over to Little Beach for a bit.  It was about what I expected, but we then returned to head into town for some lunch at a local food court.  I wanted to rent a Stand Up Paddle board from High Tech Surf Sports before dropping Mihaela off at the beach.  Since there wasn’t an available instructor during that particular time window, I was just planning on exploring some beaches while Mihaela was out on her lesson.  However, the rental place at HTSS was busy, and the guy there didn’t seem to care that I was hoping to get a rental within an hour.  So, I just left and took Mihaela to the beach.

We were in luck because Mihaela’s instructor informed me that another instructor was available to teach me during that same session.  The lesson went well, and I think I improved a bit.  The only bad thing was that I was pretty far out, and putting the board on my feet, and I got a good tug from a gust of wind that brought the board up and it released the safety line on the kite.  I tried to get close to the kite by following the centerlines, but the wind would pick up, and I got tangled in the lines.  The rat nest of lines wrapped around my harness, and the wind picked up the kite and I got yanked out of the water briefly.  I was getting close to the rocks, and I kept trying to move up the lines to take control of the kite.  I had to relax a bit, and find a way to untangle my limbs and harness from the cords that were occasionally whipping around.  Eventually I got up to the kite on the rocks, and spent a while trying to get everything released, and to take everything on shore to untangle everything.  There was even a fishing hook, lure, and about 10 feet of line tangled in with everything.  What a mess!  We finished up, and did a bit more time with the lessons before finishing up.  About that time we were treated to an epic sunset.

That evening Mihaela and I went to Paia to check out a few shops, art galleries, and then met up with our instructors at a local pizza place.  By the time we were done, it was getting late so we returned back to the resort

1/6/11

The slight daylight woke me up early Friday morning and I saw the cool clouds reflecting sunrays of the rising sun.  I took some photos, of it and the palm trees.  It was the day Mihaela had her conference presentation, so I kept a low profile and let her do her preparations.  I managed to call several hotels about getting a night stay, but it was too early in the day for any real deals to be made.  Many places were jacking up the prices because it would be for a weekend, and I was getting a little frustrated. I ended up buying a hotel night off of Hotwire, but it didn’t tell me WHICH hotel it was, just a general location with a description of the amenities.

I then left to go snorkeling.  Just up the road a ways, there is Ulua Beach.  There is a lot of construction in that area, so parking was tricky.  Just as I was pulling up, someone was leaving, so I snagged the spot.  Later I was relieved I didn’t park elsewhere since an officer was writing up scores of parking tickets for vehicles that parked where they shouldn’t have.  I put on some sunscreen and my GoPro around my wrist, then went out snorkeling by the reef.  There were some SCUBA divers in that area, along with dozens of snorkelers.  Yet the place wasn’t crowded, and I hardly encountered many others out on the reef.  I was a bit miffed by the SCUBA divers, since they were only diving at the depth of 20ft.  I was checking out a few cool fish down there, and matched the depth of the divers, and stayed down there for a bit.  The reef was pretty interesting because it extended really far out there, and had a significant drop into deeper waters.  One had to be careful near the shallow parts because waves were crashing against parts that were just above the surface.  There were lots of fish all around but perhaps the most interesting thing was the constant chorus of humpback whale songs!  One had to dive a few feet under the surface, below the waves to hear the resonating songs of the whales.  Some were louder than others, but it was eerily impressive.  I also encountered a few octopi and got inked as one got spooked.  As I was about to head back in, I saw a large green sea turtle that swam past.  A large giant puffer fish didn’t seem to mind my presence in a deeper spot, and actually swam towards me, which was mildly unsettling with all its sharp spikes.   I got out of the water and started dozing off in the sun.  There were several birds in the area that came close by in search for food, making noises at me.  I packed my things, and got back to my car.

I left for my final day of kiteboarding lessons.  After getting a bite to eat, I was there to meet Verda, where we started things off with practicing board drags, and getting the board on my feet.   I felt far more confident with board drags, and it wasn’t challenging anymore.  The wind was acting funny, and was only good WAY out there, maybe 200 meters from shore.  By the end of the session, I had gotten myself out of the water several times with good power strokes, but I needed at least a 9m kite since I was pretty underpowered.  I was using a 7m kite with 20m lines.  After the lesson, I packed my things and returned to the Grand Wailea, or simply parked in the mall parking lot to avoid having to deal with the sluggish valet parking.  I walked over, showered, and picked up Mihaela to get some dinner at a yummy Mediterranean restaurant.  It was a nice place with good food and atmosphere.  Later we went into town and got some good ice cream.  Then got back to the hotel and started packing for our morning departure from the Grand Wailea.

1/7/11

Woke up and walked over to the mall shops and had breakfast with Mihaela.  Our waiter was an older man who seemed just seconds away from losing his temper and erupting in a hostile bar fight rampage.  Obviously did NOT want to be working there, or wearing a humiliating pink grass skirt.  The breakfast was simple enough, and we left to do some snorkeling just outside of the resort.  Visibility was poor, but it was nice to see some fish and the rocks.  Then we rode the waterslides and played in pools at the resort.  After showering off we checked out of hotel, and went to exchange cash for the large kite.  At the beach we found Verda at the beach and made the exchange.  I then dropped Mihaela off at the airport, said goodbye, and left to go check out some beaches on my own.  I went northward to Waiehu Beach and decided to perhaps do some snorkeling.  There was a huge reef out there, but visibility was so bad, that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my mask.  Instead I took some photos, ate some fruit and changed into some dry clothes.  Later I drove up to the blowholes and took photos of waves and rock collisions.  I had a few close calls of getting really wet, and didn’t have very logical footwear for the sharp lava.   On the way back, picked up two young male hitchhikers who were locals without transportation.  They wanted to get to a party that day, so I gave them a ride into town.  They seemed friendly enough, and even offered me some cannabis for my trouble.  I then went straight to Luau back at the resort.  I was able to get in, despite of having a torn ticket.  I was really hungry and was excited about the food.  Though I was somewhat disappointed overall.  There were SO many people, several hundred.  By the time the table I was sitting at was permitted to get food, there was hardly anything left at the buffet, and most of it was cold and picked over.  The food was all right, but one could get better food elsewhere without having to wait over an hour for cold leftovers.  People were scrambling, cutting in line, and acting like primates when it came to a fresh batch of food coming out, and I wasn’t impressed.  Most of the people there weren’t very friendly either, didn’t have a whole lot to say, or weren’t interested in having a conversation, so I kept to myself and took photos.  I was hoping the entertainment would salvage the evening.  When the hula dancers came out, it was interesting for the first 15 minutes, and then it seemed to drag on and on, and the cheesy announcer started becoming annoying, and then tried being cutesy by involving certain people in the audience.  I had about enough then, and decided to leave before the stampede of drunken boring people clogged the exits.  I made my way back to the car parked in the mall parking lot, and departed for the mystery hotel at the Maui Shore.  It was terrible.  Not impressed at all.  Here is the review I posted:
”Wow. I ventured away from the hotel next door and thought I'd try this hotel out and save myself $10-$20 / night. What a terrible idea that was. My room was dim, moldy smelling, peeling wallpaper, dirty looking floors, smelly beds, and the shower head was about chest level. Plus, they charge for parking AND for internet! Oh, did I mention that the AC unit rattled the windows and could wake the dead? My view out the window was the front grill of a Jeep Cherokee, and not much else. This hotel is pathetic and beyond unacceptable for the price they're asking. I wouldn't pay $45/night for this treatment! I'll be returning next door and pay an extra $10-$20 for a place that is infinitely more classy, clean, and tolerable. That extra chunk of cash compensates the ease of free internet access and hassle-free parking offered at the Maui Beach. Hopefully you can learn from my mistake.”

1/8/11

I quickly got up out of the filthy hotel room as I awoke from a heated, and nearly violent argument right outside my room door.  I mean, who doesn’t want to wake up to shouted obscenities and death threats?  I called up a few places and got a reservation at the Makai Inn near Lahaina.  After checking out I took my time eating breakfast at a local pancake place, and drove around to see some scenery and clear my head from the nasty hotel experience.  I picked up a group of 6 hitchikers who were doing some sort of "amazing race" for their youth group... but had no transportation, and were out walking in the heat.  Later I went to beach to relax some, got some medical stuff for my blistered lip, and bleeding feet from all the coral interaction while kiteboarding.  Later I returned rental car, and noticed a few changes that took some talking to and I got charged a bit extra.  Then I went to Alamo to get a smaller car, a Nissan Altima.  I then made it out to Lahaina and checked in the neat apartment/condo room that is completely awesome.  I wanted to kick myself in the face for not going here earlier.  I then went to Hanakao’o beach to do snorkeling for a few hours.  Lots of whales singing, and amazing coral formations with incredibly clear water!  There were a few aggressive thermalclines, and after a while, I started getting cold and needed to warm up on the beach, where I quickly fell asleep on the sand.  I then cleaned up at my room, recorded some timelapse of the sunset, and left for BubbaGumps where  I was able to use the gift card that Andra and Dustin gave me for Christmas.  Good snow crab at the bar, and talked with some locals for a while before they got all drunk and silly.  I needed to pick up a few groceries and at the checkout a large 6'5" Jamaican guy was upset and swearing at short petite young teenaged cashier.  She didn't deserve the treatment, but the man was beyond logical thinking and just wanted someone to be angry at.  (see the Boondocks “nigga moment” reference)  She looked like she was about to cry, so I said something to try and cheer her up.  She seemed relieved, but still looked like she wanted to go home.  Got back to the room, and caught up on things, photos, emails, etc, and went to bed with the windows open and the ocean breeze flowing through the room.  Slept like a baby.

1/9/11

I decided I wanted to give Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) a try.  Yet the hotel place I was staying at was so incredibly relaxing with the cool circulating ocean air and sound of the waves rolling through my bedroom, it was easy to sleep in a little.  Eventually, I made it out and to a rental place just up the road a ways.  There I talked to a guy who seemed a bit cautious about letting ANYONE rent a paddleboard since he recently had many of his trashed and punctured.  After a bit of talking, and added extra expenses, the total came to be around $50 instead of $30.  I probably could have backed out and found another place for cheaper, but that might involve going through the whole process once again.  I took the car out a ways where there wasn’t a whole lot of waves or wind.  I unloaded the board next to one of the rocky road-side beaches that seemed awfully deserted.  I took the board out a ways in the calm waters and was able to stand up, get a feel for the balance points, and paddle around.  It wasn’t long before I heard an audible THUMP in the water.  I looked over about a mile away, and there was an explosion of white foamy water, where a humpback had breached.  There were a few more spouts, followed by at least a half dozen more breaches, each with an audible slapping report of whale blubber and water.  I noticed I was casually paddling further out from shore to get closer, and the water was deep dark blue below.  When the whales calmed down a bit, I started paralleling the coastline.  Every now and then something under me would spook a school of fish, and a hissing roar of small fish leaping out of the water would emerge just a few feet away from me.  They almost looked like flying fish, but they were just leaping out of the water in incredible numbers, which created the illusion of a lengthy flight time.  As I was paddling back, I heard more thumping in the water, and looked back where I saw the whales earlier.  There was another whale in the distance (1-2 miles) just slapping its side fin in the water making huge splashes dozens of times.  Eventually I made it back to shore, loaded up the board and was about to find another location, but received an email from Mihaela stating that the leash wasn’t in her kite she purchased, and needed me to retrieve it from Verda.  So after I got something to eat, I headed on over to the kite beach to look for her.  Eventually I found her and got the leash.  From there I had some time left over to finish playing around on the SUP.  I went to another park where I wanted to try catching some waves.  It was a whole new experience.  It took a bit longer to adjust to the balance points on moving waves, and I spent a significant amount of time on my knees at first.  I was able to catch a few waves that way, but going into the standing position required a lot more balance in catching waves.  By the end, I was able to catch a few, and I hastily loaded the board up, and returned it just before closing time.

I received a coupon for dinner, and since I didn’t have any other dinner plans, I decided to give it a shot.  The food wasn’t spectacular, very expensive, and the coupon wasn’t really worth the trouble.  I took some cellphone photos of the Banyan tree park, and then headed back to the hotel and went to bed early.

1/10/11

I had scheduled to do a SCUBA dive at Molokini crater, but I had to leave my hotel a little after 4am to make it at the dock for check-in.  I arrived in the dark, signed papers, and fit up with a wetsuit.  Eventually we pulled away, and started on out to the crater.  The sun was slowly approaching the horizon, and a soft glow started to illuminate our surroundings.  Moments after we made anchor, we were instructed to grab our gear and get in the water.  I was a little surprised, since the sun had not come up yet and it was a bit dark in the water, and also things seemed a bit rushed compared to Thailand.  I made it into the water, turned on the GoPro, and started my descent.   I felt a little uneasy for such a rushed departure, and I had to remember how to breathe slowly, but still felt like I was going through my O2 too fast.  The guide spotted a large gray shark in the distance which didn’t seem to notice our presence much at all.  I wasn’t worried, but I did notice my breathing increase slightly.  Later on we spotted another shark, a white tipped reef shark.  It was significantly smaller but we got a closer look at it.  One of the creatures we played with was a lobster.  They looked a bit different than what you’d normally expect a lobster to look like.  I had to signal my guide that I needed to do my ascent, so I slowly made my way up, did my safety stop, and surfaced.  During my ascent, I noticed my computer gauge was leaking air which might have been why my time down there was a bit less.  I inflated by BCD and just snorkeled around for a bit before getting in the boat.  I regretted not taking a leak while in the water because for the next hour on the boat, my bladder was about to explode, and I didn’t want to slip out of my wetsuit just to go to the bathroom.  In getting suited up for our next dive, just leaning over to put my fins on, I thought my bladder was going to rupture, and seconds after I hit the water I spent the next minute or so relieving pressure.  During this time I remembered my leaking computer, and called to get a replacement.  I had to get out of the water again, but quickly got one swapped out, and I was diving again.  The sun had just crested over the horizon and visibility was far better.  My dive group was already at the bottom, so I made a rapid descent which wasn’t all that bad.  The GoPro seemed a bit loose on my head, and kept slipping, which was slightly annoying.  The highlights of this dive were the schools of fish, getting buzzed by a rare small sea turtle (less than 1000 on the planet) and an octopus that the instructor was able to capture and let us play with.  Eventually it was time for me to ascend.  I lasted a good 10 minutes longer this time around, and started up the buoy line.  It was then that I noticed my GoPro was missing off my head.  I panicked briefly and looked all around.  I didn’t have enough air to go down and look for it and do my safety stop.  I tried to find it during my stop, and while at the surface, but was unable to locate it.  I returned to the boat, and as soon as I saw my guide, I informed him of the loss.  He went back down to look for it and was only gone for a few minutes, and returned with it on his head.  I tipped him $20 for finding it for me.  It was good that I had the footage from the dive.

We got back to the port, and I dried off, changed and got into the car.  I drove up to get some lunch and wanted to drive around the east side of the island.  In order to get there, one has to drive somewhat high in elevation to get over there.  I had my phone’s GPS on to show me the altitude.  When I approached 3000 feet, I started getting nervous, so I pulled over to use the bathroom at a McDonalds while I looked up various dive tables to find out what my maximum elevation would safely be with the amount of Nitrogen in my bloodstream.  It turned out to be well over 7000 feet for how long I had been out of the water, so I was no longer concerned.  The road climbed up and eventually dropped back down to sea level.  There I got out to take some photos.  I eventually made it to the “Bowling Ball beach” where I spent a long time doing photographs, and even discovered a pig skull wedged under some rocks.  I continued along to some other beaches that Mihaela and I missed out on since it was dark.  I made it through Hana, and spent a long time at the Black Sand Beach area.  Lots of cool blowholes.  Eventually I made it westward.  By the time I was approaching the last few dozen miles of curvy roads, I became a bit more irate with the drivers who wouldn’t use turnouts, and insisted upon driving 5mph.  I was glad to be off that road by the time I reached the airport.  There the sun was setting behind the volcano, making a pretty display.  I made it back to Lahina, and ate at Bubba Gump again getting the same order.  It was slightly more expensive, and not as tasty as the last time.  Oh well, it did the trick.  Made it back to the hotel, showered (finally) and crashed.

1/11

In the morning I cleaned out the room, packed, ate breakfast, and washed dishes.  I signed the papers needed, and departed out of Lahina.  On my way to the airport, I stopped and watched several pods of whales breaching and spouting in the distance from one of the pullouts on the side of the road.  I stopped in a place to get some lunch, grabbed some last minute items at the store, and made one more stop at the Kite beach to take some photos.  From there I got to the airport and dropped off the car.  I was glad I made a fuss about the small scratches the attendant rolled her eyes at when I reported them before I picked up the car.  Then I was glad I got to the airport early, since the TSA screening line extended for a good 100m.  It took about an hour to go through, and I had some time to send off some photos and email via cellphone tethering.  I boarded the flight, and sat across the way from a screaming baby which screeched the entire flight without sleeping.  Noise cancellation headphones didn’t work on that particular frequency or magnitude.  When I got out of the plane I realized how cold it was in WA.  Grr.  Need to go back to Hawaii.